The Third View
The worldview that we use determines what kind of world we see and how we live in that world.
I believe that there are three major worldviews. The First View is the standard scientific view, that the universe is a big machine and that we are intelligent animals, driven and determined by internal drives. The Second View goes beyond this to focus on growth and developing our potential - we are like trees, growing to meet our full potential.
And this is where it stops for most personal growth approaches and success literature. Lots of autonomous individuals, each striving to reach their goals and potential. But there is something missing, something deeply wrong with this as our final picture of the universe. There is a level beyond this which encompasses it and transforms it, which leads us into a bigger and better world.
The Third View shows us a deeper world. It says that the universe is relational at its core. That we cannot be fully human outside of healthy relationships. That we are responsible to the call of the Other on our lives - whether that Other is God, other people, or nature. That the highest goal of human life is simply to live in good relationship with others, with our environment, and with God. The metaphor I use is the tree and the hoop: trees represent individuals and their growth, but all our trees are held within surrounding hoops of relationships, to which we are responsible. Think of what it is like to be in love, not just romantically, but also with one's children, one's friends - then one is at one's best, life is at its richest and most exciting and rewarding, and there is great joy in doing things for the other person. This is the world revealed by The Third View - the world we all wish to live in.
Worldshift teaches people how to transform their lives by becoming part of this deeper world.